Child Safeguarding Statement

Scoil Bhríde is a junior primary school providing primary education to pupils from Junior Infants to Second Class.

In accordance with the requirements of the Children First Act 2015, Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017, the Addendum to Children First (2019), the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools (revised 2023) and Tusla Guidance on the preparation of Child Safeguarding Statements, the Board of Management of Scoil Bhríde has agreed the Child Safeguarding Statement set out in this document.

The Board of Management has adopted and will implement fully and without modification the Department’s Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools (revised 2023) as part of this overall Child Safeguarding Statement
The Designated Liaison Person (DLP) is Marianne Craig (Principal)
The Deputy Designated Liaison Person (Deputy DLP) is Catherine Kelly (Deputy Principal)
The relevant person is Marianne Craig
The Board of Management recognises that child protection and welfare considerations permeate all aspects of school life and must be reflected in all of the school’s policies, procedures, practices and activities. In its policies, procedures, practices and activities, the school will adhere to the following principles of best practice in child protection and welfare:

The school will:

recognise that the protection and welfare of children is of paramount importance, regardless of all other considerations;
fully comply with its statutory obligations under the Children First Act 2015 and other relevant legislation relating to the protection and welfare of children;
fully co-operate with the relevant statutory authorities in relation to child protection and welfare matters
adopt safe practices to minimise the possibility of harm or accidents happening to children and protect workers from the necessity to take unnecessary risks that may leave themselves open to accusations of abuse or neglect;
develop a practice of openness with parents and encourage parental involvement in the education of their children; and
fully respect confidentiality requirements in dealing with child protection matters.

The school will also adhere to the above principles in relation to any adult pupil with a special vulnerability.

The following procedures/measures are in place:

In relation to any member of staff who is the subject of any investigation (howsoever described) in respect of any act, omission or circumstance in respect of a child attending the school, the school adheres to the relevant procedures set out in Chapter 7 of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools (revised 2023) and to the relevant agreed disciplinary procedures for school staff which are published on the DE website.
In relation to the selection or recruitment of staff and their suitability to work with children, the school adheres to the statutory vetting requirements of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016 and to the wider duty of care guidance set out in relevant Garda vetting and recruitment circulars published by the DES and available on the DE website.
- In relation to the provision of information and, where necessary, instruction and training, to staff in respect of the identification of the occurrence of harm (as defined in the 2015 Act) the school-
- Has provided each member of staff with a copy of the school’s Child Safeguarding Statement
- Ensures all new staff are provided with a copy of the school’s Child Safeguarding Statement
- Encourages staff to avail of relevant training
- Encourages Board of Management members to avail of relevant training
- The Board of Management maintains records of all staff and Board member training
In relation to reporting of child protection concerns to Tusla, all school personnel are required to adhere to the procedures set out in the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools (revised 2023), including in the case of registered teachers, those in relation to mandated reporting under the Children First Act 2015.
All registered teachers employed by the school are mandated persons under the Children First Act 2015.
In this school the Board has appointed the above named DLP as the “relevant person” (as defined in the Children First Act 2015) to be the first point of contact in respect of the child safeguarding statement.
In accordance with the Children First Act 2015 and the Addendum to Children First (2019), the Board has carried out an assessment of any potential for harm to a child while attending the school or participating in school activities. A written assessment setting out the areas of risk identified and the school’s procedures for managing those risks is included with Child Safeguarding Statement.
The various procedures referred to in this Statement can be accessed via the school’s website, the DES website or will be made available on request by the school.

Procedure for dealing with Allegations of Abuse against School Employees

In the event that an allegation of abuse is made against a staff member the following steps will be taken in conjunction with the guidelines in Chapter 7 and Appendix 3 of Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools.

The Principal, who is the DLP, Deputy Principal, who is the DDLP, or the Chairperson of the Board will contact CPSMA for legal advice
Inform the parents of the child in question within ten days of the procedure being followed
Inform parents that they may contact TUSLA, if they haven’t already done so.

Procedure for dealing with Allegations of Abuse against School Employees

The Principal, who is the DLP, Deputy Principal, who is the DDLP, or the Chairperson of the Board will contact CPSMA for legal advice
Inform the parents of the child in question within ten days of the procedure being followed
Inform parents that they may contact TUSLA, if they haven’t already done so.

This statement has been published on the school’s website and has been provided to all members of school personnel, the Parents’ Association and the patron. It is readily accessible to parents and guardians on request. A copy of this Statement will be made available to Tusla and the Department if requested.

This Child Safeguarding Statement will be reviewed annually or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which this statement refers.

Child Safeguarding Risk Assessment (of any potential harm) Scoil Bhríde JNS.

In accordance with section 11 of the Children First Act 2015 and with the requirement of Chapter 8 of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 2017, the following is the Written Risk Assessment of Scoil Bhríde JNS.

List of School Activities	The School has identified the following Risk of Harm	The School has the following Procedures in place to address risk identified in this assessment
DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES/ACTIONS
1. Training of school personnel in Child Protection matters	Harm not recognised or reported promptly	Child Safeguarding Statement & DES procedures made available to all staff DLP& DDLP to attend training All Staff to view Túsla training module & online training offered by PDST BOM records all records of staff and board training Child Protection on all board and staff meetings
2. One to one teaching; One on one SNA care; Principal or teacher meeting one-on-one with a pupil	Harm by school personnel	Special Education Policy Open doors or glass in door/window Table between teacher and pupil where appropriate
3. Care of Children with special needs, including intimate care needs (toileting, showering, changing etc.)	Harm by school personnel	Policy on intimate care. Two staff members to be present.
4. Toilet time	Harm by school personnel	Usage and supervision protocol
5. Curricular Provision in respect of SPHE, RSE, Stay safe.	Non-teaching of same	School implements SPHE, RSE, Stay Safe programmes in full
6. Daily arrival and dismissal of pupils	Harm from unknown adults on the playground	Arrival (after 8.50am) and dismissal supervised by teachers. Infants handed to parents at home-time. 1^st Class and 2^nd Class walk out to parents. If 2^nd class child walks home on his/her own, note required by school
List of School Activities	The school has identified the following Risk of Harm in respect of its activities	The School has the following Procedures in place to address risk identified in this assessment
7. Children in yard at break times	Interaction with strangers through railings of yard. Grooming and abduction	Adequate supervision. Teacher to address issue and report immediately. Gardaí informed if necessary.
8. Pupils on jobs around the school	Harm from school personnel/unknown adults	Children to go in pairs
9. Managing of challenging behaviour amongst pupils, including appropriate use of restraint	Injury to pupils and staff	Restraint Policy Health & Safety Policy Code Of Behaviour
10. Administration of Medicine Administration of First Aid	Harm by school personnel	Policy on Administering Medication First aid training for staff Ensuring Teacher/SNA not alone with child
11. Use of sensory room	Harm by school personnel	Inform staff of where you and the child will be and for how long you will be gone. Glass on door. Supervised by teacher.
12. School transport arrangements including use of bus escort	Harm by adult	Garda vetting for bus escorts Escorts given copy of Child Safeguarding Statement.
13. Stranger entering the building	Harm by unknown adult/abduction	Reporting to the Office, visitor card, CCTV, locking of doors all day, high lock on door so children cannot allow visitors in.
14. Online Learning	Harm due to inappropriate use of online remote teaching and learning platforms.	Policy on Remote Learning Secure Online Platforms used. E.g. Seesaw, Aladdin iPads – Apple Classroom – teacher can monitor individual children’s work on iPads. Apps have to be downloaded by the central administrator. School broadband filtering is on.
Weekly Activities
1. In-school sports coaching or activities such as drama /yoga/ dance	Harm by adults	School safe guarding statement Garda vetting Teachers to stay with non-members of staff
2. After school sports clubs (GAA, hurling, camogie, basketball etc.) or other activities e.g. Choir, with staff members	Harm by school personnel	Code of Behaviour Child Safeguarding Statement
AD- HOC Occurrences
1. Student teachers undertaking training placement in school	Harm to pupils	Garda vetting To follow Child Safeguarding Statement Supervised by teacher
2. Students participating in work experience	Harm to pupils	Work experience student to be supervised by classroom teacher. Garda Vetting Child Safeguarding Statement
3. Trips around the locality e.g. Church, Library, Park, Shopping Centre	Harm by known or unknown adults	Child Safeguarding Statement Constant and vigilant supervision by teachers
4. School day-trips/outings	Harm by known or unknown adults	School Trip Protocol Adequate supervision by teachers
5. Annual Sports Day/Arts Day	Harm by unknown adults	Garda vetting Child Safeguarding Statement Supervision by class teacher and other staff members
6. Visiting contractors (e.g. IT companies, security company, builders etc.)	Harm by unknown adults	Children to be under supervision of class teacher
7. Use of video/photos/other media to record school events	Public access online to children’s images	Parental permission is sought when entering the school in Junior Infants. Teachers advised to destroy any images of children once they are no longer required for teaching purposes.
8. After school use of the school premise (e.g. Irish dancing)	Harm by unknown adult	Children left in the school after hours should be supervised by their after-school’s activity teacher
9. Swimming	Harm by school personnel	High ratio of adults to pupils. Adults always working in groups. Adult never alone with a child.

Important Note: It should be noted that risk in the context of this risk assessment is the risk of “harm” as defined in the Children First Act 2015 and not general health and safety risk. The definition of harm is set out in Chapter 4 of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post- Primary Schools (revised 2023).

In undertaking this risk assessment, the board of management has endeavoured to identify as far as possible the risks of harm that are relevant to this school and to ensure that adequate procedures are in place to manage all risks identified. While it is not possible to foresee and remove all risk of harm, the school has in place the procedures listed in this risk assessment to manage and reduce risk to the greatest possible extent.

Notification of Annual Review of Child Safeguarding Statement 2023

Click here to download a copy of this Child Safeguarding Statement